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Territory-wide enforcement operations codenamed "Twilight" and "Windsand" were mounted by the Immigration Department and the Hong Kong Police Force yesterday (March 13) to combat illegal employment activities. A total of 15 illegal workers and two suspected employers were arrested.
During operation Twilight, immigration officers raided 12 target locations including restaurants, a vegetable stall, a cargo ship, a garbage collection point and a residential flat. Two illegal workers were arrested comprising one man and one woman aged 54 and 63. One man and one woman, aged 24 and 62 respectively, were suspected of employing the illegal workers.
During operation Windsand, which was a joint operation between the Immigration Department and the Hong Kong Police Force, six male and seven female Mainland visitors aged 19 to 58 were arrested for breaching their conditions of stay by being involved in suspected parallel goods trading at San Wan Road, Ka Fu Close and Shek Wu Hui Jockey Club Playground in Sheung Shui. The goods involved red wine, milk powder, snack food, diapers, daily necessities and cosmetics.
Since September 2012, a number of Windsand operations have been conducted, during which a total of 1,159 Mainlanders and 13 Hong Kong residents were arrested for suspected involvement in parallel goods trading. Of these, 177 Mainlanders were prosecuted for breach of conditions of stay and two are under investigation, while the remaining 980 people were repatriated. Among those prosecuted, 168 out of 177 were sentenced to imprisonment for four weeks to two months, one was pending court hearing, and charges were withdrawn for another eight people.
"Visitors are not allowed to take employment in Hong Kong, whether paid or unpaid, without the permission of the Director of Immigration. Offenders are liable to prosecution and upon conviction face a maximum fine of $50,000 and up to two years' imprisonment," an Immigration Department spokesman said.
The spokesman also appealed to employers not to employ illegal workers, warning that it is an offence to employ people who are not lawfully employable. The maximum penalty is a fine of $350,000 and imprisonment for three years. It is also an offence if an employer fails to inspect the job seeker's identity card or, if the job seeker does not have a Hong Kong permanent identity card, his or her valid travel document. The maximum penalty for failing to do so is a fine of $150,000 and imprisonment for one year. To deter unlawful employment, the High Court laid down sentencing guidelines in 2004 reaffirming that it is a serious offence to employ someone who is not legally employable, and stating that the employer of an illegal worker should be given an immediate custodial sentence.
Ends/Friday, March 14, 2014
Issued at HKT 17:30
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